.how i started photography

The Sony.

Having started graduate school nearly a fortnight ago gives me the opportunity to take my camera out on a daily basis. I have been making the effort to take my heavy duty DSLR camera out on days when I would catch the train, just so I could start snapping away with the camera when something catches my attention.

Majority of you may not know how I started photography so I thought I'd blog while I'm at it.

It was March 2006 when I decided to go on to Canon Australia's website to look at DSLR cameras. I don't remember what made me interested in a DSLR all of a sudden. I knew nothing about DSLR's back then and the first model I was on the website was the 30D and then I said, "Okay, I might get this one."

Everything I bought depended on portability and size (lighter/smaller the better). SF and I finally dropped JB Hi-Fi along Elizabeth Street two months later. That was the first time I saw the 30D in real life and I immediately thought that it's a little too big for me. A couple of friends recommended the 350D and Nikon D40 so I thought I'd have a look at them too. I decided to go for the 350D because.. uhh.. because it's smaller than the 30D. *sheepish*

Since the 350D doesn't come with the body kit lens (I have no idea why) I had to buy a lens separately. So next day, SF and I went in to Camera House to have a look at lenses. Again, I had no idea what 18-55mm or 70-200mm or 35mm meant.. But I knew I wanted an all-rounder lens, something that I can use for pretty much any occasion... And so it goes on and on, and I left the shop with an ultra-wide lens – the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM.. The very lens that has been giving me all these amazing HDR results over the past year.

As a noob who knew nothing about photography, I didn't enjoy the Sigma 10-20mm very much... I actually swopped the lens for a body kit (18-55mm) with my brother in January 2007*!

And finally, in May 2007, I got myself a Flickr Pro account. I have been on Flickr since April 2005, when I thought I'd sign up for fun and post up photos of random daily stuff, like food and things. That was when I started taking photography seriously.

In November 2008, I bought my first prime lens, the very affordable and light-weight EF 50mm f/1.8 II. I love that lens and I probably should have bought that for a first lens rather than the 10-20mm.

I took the 10-20mm back to Melbourne with me in February 2008 and started enjoying it heaps – It's a lens that must be taken along for road trips!

In April 2008, I bought my first and only "L" lens – the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. It makes a good all-rounder lens and I have been using it for everything since. Today, I am using it primarily with the full-frame 5D Mark II. For my next "L" lens, I would like an EF 16-35mm, an ultra-wide suitable for the 5D.

I must have taken well over 10,000 photos in 2008 alone and posted 1,900+ on Flickr that year. I am hoping to post well over 2000 shots by end of this year and so far, I've only posted approximately 800 photos in the year 2009 set.

I do have to admit that I am not putting in as much effort with photography as I did last year, due to other commitments, so I guess the only way to continue photography is for me to take the camera everywhere I go and make the effort to take at least 5 photos a day.

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I shall take the prime lens and 350D with me to uni tomorrow and see what I can come up with. :)

.untitled?

I don't know if I can cope anymore.. And all I know is that I have to give up one of three things for now.

Decisions really do get harder as one gets older.. Haa..

.first day of school

The New Life.

Well actually, first day was alright since it started at 12 noon. My very first postgraduate class was the 2-hour long Website Authoring lecture, which ended .5 hour early. That gave me extra time to grab a couple of sushi before the 4-hour Digital Audio/Video class, which starts 2pm.
Digital Audio/Video ended 2 hours early and that allowed me to head home before dark. Sooo that wasn't so bad. :)

Second day, however, was kind of a tiring start. I had to force myself up at 7.15am.. It's a miracle that I didn't press the snooze button twice. After spending about 3.5 minute with my iPod, I got up, heat up some left over muffins (so I could eat them during the break), made a sandwich and started getting ready to leave the house. That took about 45 minutes... :\

I managed to catch the 8.28am Pakenham train from Melbourne Central Station down and thought I would get to uni 10 minutes before the lecture. But noooooo. The train got stuck twice, once right before Flinders Street Station and the next right before my stop, Caulfield Station. So I was about 5 minutes late. I hate being late and would always try to get to my appointments or destinations a few minutes before.

December marks the end of the Connex Era.. And I hope MTR (the company taking over) will do something to improve Melbourne's train network because I'm pretty sure I will be taking the train at least twice a week for the next 2 years.

Just give me some time to get used to waking up early three times a week for classes alright? I'm glad there aren't any labs tomorrow so I am going to sleep in for a bit before getting back to everyone. I think I'm going to try and stay away from the internet tonight, get my storyboarding done (due following Monday) and sleep early.

L8r guys. Thanks for reading... And don't be shy to comment... I love getting comments, good or bad. So speak now or forever hold your piece.

.i'm not a huge fan of pink stuff...

Pocky.

But there are exceptions. :) I like Pocky - especially the strawberry flavored ones. And I am sure you do too, or will if you haven't already tried one.

So for those of you who haven't, what are you waiting for? Go get some!!! It's easily available in most Asian countries.. As for the others, I'm sure you can find them in major oriental supermarkets.

Mmmm.. x)


Today's July 14th and it also happens to be one of my cousins birthday.. So.. Happy Birthday Yuki!!!

.walk for harmony

Walk for harmony on Swanston Street.

As you all should know by now, Melbourne has been labeled as the world's swine flu capital. Yep it's true, we are currently known for having one of the world's highest number of swine flu cases.

:D

Despite the fact that swine flu spreads rapidly as it has been for the past 3 months, Melburnians have all made an effort to get together at Carlton Garden for the parade down to Federation Square. SF and I were one of them (although we joined in at corner La Trobe and Swanston Streets).

I am aware that racism exist everywhere in this world, even in a multicultural community such as Australia. It is sad, and unfortunately, it is true. :\ And racism should never be tolerated anywhere. Walk for Harmony has been organized to show that we appreciate and support having a multicultural society in Melbourne.

It was great seeing so many people participate in the parade. It has also made me appreciate being here in Melbourne more than before.

.postgraduate

A New Chapter.

The best job ever. :)

Went down to uni for enrolment this morning and met the course coordinator, who was shocked to hear that I've done multimedia design before.. It seems like this (Master of Multimedia Design) course is designated for students with any undergraduate backgrounds. :\

I suppose I can still make use of the next couple of years to improve my multimedia skills, there will always be room to improve and we will always be learning.

This semester, I am enrolled in four units and I attend classes Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Not too bad I reckon! I will probably drive Tuesdays and Fridays since classes only last 2-3 hours on each of those days. And I'll only have to get up at 7.30am (brrrrrr...寒い！！！) on one of the three days of uni.. Not bad at all!

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I realize that it has been a while since I wrote up a proper post... Will make it up soon!

.help her!

I know it's a nice banner (and no, it's not designed by me)..

But umm, okay here's what I wanna say........

Actually, I'm not that good with words.. But all I wanna say is that this will only take up a couple of minutes of your time.. Let's all help this little girl fight cancer! Hurry! They've got less than a month to raise the total amount of $350,000 (US dollars).

Click here for the link if you can't see the image above.. Like I said, I am not good with explaining so please read the blog to understand the situation.

.be suspicious when...like...

Arrival of the Bad.

Do you ever get that?

Like.. Umm.. How do I explain this..

Well, like for example, after a horrible period of time you would have a whole 2 weeks of, let's call it "the lucky fortnight".. And then all of a sudden, things start falling apart and you become unlucky all over again.. And then things start looking good again after a couple of weeks, and fall again, and so on.

You get what I mean so far? If you don't, well.. Never mind, don't worry about it.

.....

I think everyone gets that though.. So the majority of you would know what I'm talking about.

Uh.. In case you were wondering, I was kind of indirectly talking about something that has been bugging me for a while..

Remember when I wrote the entry .going LD back in April? THAT IS what's bugging me at the moment.

That's what happens when you are second class citizen I suppose.. But I reckon we like it here better than Singapore...

We need miracles!!!

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On a random note, I don't talk to my relatives much, especially those from the paternal side (with the exception of cousin Z)...

But I would like to wish my 8-year-younger-than-me nephew, J, a Happy Birthday.